Ant

Ant struggling to find his way.

(Click images to enlarge, to see all the details)
 

Ant, heavyweight

When I was sitting outside in the sunshine,
I suddenly noticed a small crawly ant.
He was carrying a caterpillar 3 times its size!
Almost unbelievable that those tiny insects can carry such enormous weight.

grasshopper and crickets

I don't know very much about grasshoppers or crickets.
To be honest, I don't like them very much.
Hopping or jumping before your feet when you walk though the grass.
Unexpected and suddenly these critters jump before you know it in your shoes...
Some even had some blueish wings.
But they only showed these wings when hopping and not as they sit still.

Dragonfly

This morning I noticed a dragonfly, floating in the pond.
I looked closer, to see better if he was alive or already gone.
He did n't move anymore, so I could see very close.

His fragile, translucent wings are so extremely beautiful made!

(click on the photo to see better)

Out of hibernation

Todau it was springtime...lovely springish weather...though the official calender says otherwise.
All the buzz buzz...were out!
I saw the first ladybirds, the first butterflies, the first bees and the first bumbles coming out today.

on high heels

Just for fun.

2 missing

bottom view

top view

On my door sits a crane fly, (langpootmug) all morning.
When I open the door, nothing happens...
He stays where he is.
When I close the door...he still remains...just sitting there.
No hurry.
When I wanted to make a photo of this weird longlegged insect...
looking through the lens, I noticed he was missing one of his legs.
Oh dear..
Happily he has wings so no bother, he can fly.
Then when I looked better on my computer screen I noticed he was missing both of his legs....
They normally have six.

crashed dragonfly

Today a dragonfly crashed against my window.
He sat there a long time on the ground, seeing stars all around.
I picked him up because Bibi thought it was a nice toy to play with.
He hardly moved, trying to flap his wings.

I think I could feel what he felt.
I twisted the other day my foot and saw all the stars of the universe.
Its not fun.

Bee drinking

Not only birds come to have a drink in the birdbath.
This morning a beautiful Bee came to have a cool refreshing sip.

Blue tits food

The blue tits are having young as well.
I have a great view on the nest box, close to my window.
Its fun to watch what they are catching as yummy food for their baby's

Nibbled

Nibbled and to be nibbled,

The snail eating the violet, (see yesterdays post The Violet Nibbler)

and then....who is next.

This morning I found spider with wrap

Spiders are not my favorites, especially not inside the house.

Yet seeing this beautiful wheels and webs,

I must acknowledge they are smart constructors.

One spider caught a snail in his web,

the other one had a great catch of a bee-like insect.

perfectly wrapped and making sure it will stay.

Nibble..nibble...smack-smack.

hoverfly

In my garden I see the last weeks, lost of hoverflies..(zweefvliegen)
they can kind of stand still in the air...like a colibri.
This one is a Marmalade hover-fly...
in dutch he is called a pyama zweefvlieg..or (latin name:Episyrphus balteatus)
as if he is still wearing his striped pyjama..and did-not change clothes after breakfast.

dragonfly

last couple of days a big dragonfly perches on a garden-pin.
He loves sitting in the sunshine,
He flies a little around...then returns to his stick
sits again a little in the sunshine,
goes off again for a small flight and returns again.
this goes on the whole day as long as the sun is shining.

If you look at his face, it looks like he is smiling,
great grin on his face.
would he still smile, when the sunshine is gone?

struggle

A very big bug, a cockchafer,(meikever) sat on a leaf of a waterplant in the pond.
He was going in circles and circles...on the edge of the leaf.
thinking he would come out of the water, if he walked enough miles.

More than once he slipped of the leaf...nearly drowning,
but he managed to come back on the leaf after some struggle.
Finally I saved him...
probably he didn't remember that he could use his wings

dragon flies

kind of dragonflies (Coenagrion)
dancing & mating on the waterplants.